UC Davis linebacker comes of age

Look beyond the UC Davis helmet and No. 34 jersey. Get past the career-high 13 tackles against Montana on Oct. 27 and subsequently being honored as the STATS FCS National Defensive Player of the Week. There is so much more to senior linebacker Mason Moe than will meet even the sharpest eye.

“Not many people know the story behind Mason Moe,” the 6-foot, 210-pound Moe said Oct. 31 after practice. Moe was it again Nov. 3 with six tackles and an interception as UC Davis thumped Northern Arizona 42-20 to improve to 6-0 in the Big Sky Conference and 8-1 overall.

Mason Moe deflects a pass intended for Northern Arizona’s Emmanuel Butler in the Aggies’ 42-20 victory. Moe had six tackles and an interception.

Let’s begin with his age. Moe turned 24 on Oct. 18. He is a 2012 graduate of Kahuku High School in his native Hawaii and as a senior helpedthe Red Raiders win their sixth state championship. The title game was Moe’s last for two years. He opted to embark on a Mormon mission instead of trying to play football in college.

“It was a hard decision to make and I knew it would be hard for my family.They didn’t know if I would come back and want to play football,” Moe recalled. “You only get one day, which is Monday, to speak to your family and it’s through email. The only time you can Skype your family is on Mother’s Day and Christmas.”

His first year as a missionary was spent in Mexico. He then was sent to Long Beach. As soon as his service ended, he remained in California and searched for a junior college to continue his education play football. He landed at West Hills Coalinga College and quickly learned to live with the nauseating aroma of cows.

“That’s how you know you’re in Coalinga,” Moe quipped. “You get immune to it. There’s nothing you can do about it.”

As soon as Moe arrived in 2015, Robert Tucker resigned as head coach at West Hills Coalinga to take the same position at Los Angeles Valley College. Tucker is now the defensive coordinator at UC Davis, so it is not a coincidence that Moe is now playing for Tucker after being recruited by Tucker to join the Aggies.

Mason Moe

“This was my only (scholarship) offer,” said Moe, who took two classes in the summer of 2017 in order to have enough units to transfer. That extra work is now paying off. Moe is tackling the books as well as he does opposing ballcarriers and is on track to graduate in June with a bachelor’s degree in American Studies.

Speaking of bachelors, Moe no longer thinks of himself as one. Moe and his girlfriend have started a family. The couple has a 2-year-old boy, Mason Jr., and Moe is also stepfather to his girlfriend’s 5-year-old son. There is more inside that helmet and jersey than a student-athlete. Moe has become a man in every sense of the word.

“I’ve got a family to feed,” said Moe, who hopes to accomplish that by playing professional football anywhere and any way he can.

Moe has more on his plate than most of his teammates. His journey thus far has been different than most of theirs. He still gets a kick out of being one of the guys, but he realizes as the elder statesmen that the young players will follow his lead.

“I’m old at age, but I’m young at heart,” Moe said. “When you’ve got freshmen who are 17 or 18 years old, they look at you as an example. You’ve got to be that figure for them.”